Overview:

You might think things are sleepy for the holiday week in our local cultural landscape. You’d be wrong.

’Twas the night before Christmas, and all through the city of Eugene, not a thing-to-do was stirring … Ha! As if.

Merry Christmas Eve, Lookout readers. This week, many of our typical venues are having sleepy weeks for the holiday, but there’s still plenty to add to your calendar. Our events this week defy easy categorization — though we do have an especially packed section for what’s playing in theaters this week. Let’s get into it:

I want music!
Stage shows!
What’s playing in theaters? 

Music

‘GLOOM IV: Darkness Falls Over the Holidays’ 

Are you something of a Grinch? Are you into experimental drone music? Are you free on Christmas Eve? This candlelit 21+ event at John Henry’s for “the outcasts, the untethered and those uninterested in holiday cheer” just might make your night as DJ x4NGSTx spins a drone and melancholic ambient set. Bah Humbug, but goth.

  • When: Wednesday, Dec. 24, starting at 9 p.m.
  • Where: John Henry’s, 881 Willamette St. in downtown Eugene
  • How much: Free to attend, but donations are accepted

Concert from ‘The Voice’ contestant Austin Gilbert 

Anyone in for a honky-tonk day after Christmas? Our local “The Voice” contestant Austin Gilbert and his band will be performing their last show of the year this Friday. I spoke with Gilbert back in October after his blind audition, a rendition of country star Luke Combs’ “The Kind of Love We Make.”

Though Gilbert was eliminated in the show’s knockout rounds, the third phase of the show’s competition, he impressed both Michael Buble and Reba McIntire with his earnest country chops.

  • When: Friday Dec. 26, from 8 p.m. to midnight
  • Where: Low Places, formerly the Twisted River Saloon, 1444 Main St. in Springfield
  • How much: There is no cover for the concert, but of course bring some money for drinks if you’d like.

Buenas Vibras pre-New Year’s masquerade party

Baile! Eugene has a thriving Latin dance scene through its Buenas Vibras dance nights, as Lookout contributor Lizbeth Solorzano wrote about back in May. This week, Buenas Vibras is ringing in 2026 with a masquerade party, which starts with a dance lesson before a social dance. No masquerade ball looks are required — but they are fun. 

  • When: Saturday, Dec. 27, 8:30 p.m.
  • Where: The Barn Light Bar, 924 Willamette St. in downtown Eugene
  • How much: Cover is $5

What were the other options again?

Stage shows to check out

Staged reading of ‘It’s Brilliant Here’ 

This one-night-only engagement is a staged reading of “It’s Brilliant Here,” a comedy about a rich gay couple in 1990s Los Angeles written by the playwright William S. “Sam” Gregory. Gregory grew up in Eugene and graduated from South Eugene High School before studying theater and producing a number of his plays in Portland in the 1990s.

But the evening isn’t just a comedy, it’s a memorial of sorts: Gregory died in 2024 of heart failure. The reading of “It’s Brilliant Here” is part of SamFest, a monthlong festival of his plays scheduled for January at Portland’s CoHo Theatre.

  • When: Sunday, Dec. 28 at 6 p.m.
  • Where: Stage Left at the Very Little Theatre, 2350 Hilyard St.
  • How much: Tickets are $10 minimum, but are on a pay-what-you-will basis. 

Jay & Silent Bob’s ‘Aural Sects’ Tour

First off, that pun? Boo, tomato. Moving on: Jason Mewes and Kevin Smith, the actors behind Jay and Silent Bob in movies including “Clerks,” “Mallrats” and “Chasing Amy,” are coming to Eugene on their stand-up comedy tour, where the two “finally get to be themselves, using their mouths on you for money, telling tales about making movies, marrying above their stations, and being Dads — all while struggling to maintain their dwindling pop cultural relevance!”

I used to love Smith’s “stand-up” specials, which were really audience question-and-answer sessions where his long-winded answers would take up 45 minutes minimum. So if you’re down for some well-meaning meandering and 1990s nostalgia, this could be the event for you.

  • When: There are four performances as Mewes and Smith are in town Friday, Dec. 26, and Saturday, Dec. 27, but one show on each night is already sold out. Tickets are still available for the 9:30 p.m. shows on both nights.
  • Where: Olsen Run Comedy Club & Lounge, 44 E. Seventh Ave. in Eugene.
  • How much: Tickets are available online, starting at $55.

What were the other options again?

What’s playing at the movies?

New and notable at the box office

YouTube video

“Uncut Gems,” but ping-pong instead of gemstones. That’s the surface-level pitch for “Marty Supreme,” the new film directed by Josh Safdie and starring Timothée Chalamet as a table tennis champion vying for greatness in the 1950s. Bilge Ebiri, the film critic at New York Magazine and one of my favorite critics, said “Marty” is the best performance of Chalamet’s career. The supporting cast is stacked: Gwyneth Paltrow, Odessa A’zion, Kevin O’Leary (yes, the guy from “Shark Tank”), Tyler Okonma (best known as Tyler, the Creator), Abel Ferrara (director of “King of New York” and “Bad Lieutenant”) and Fran Drescher (of being Fran Drescher!).

Playing at Metro Cinemas, Regal Valley River Center, and Cinemark Eugene-Springfield 17.

It’s an “Anaconda” remake. Well, it’s a meta take on what an “Anaconda” remake could look like. Well, it uses the premise of a meta take on what an “Anaconda” remake could look like to just become an “Anaconda” remake in practice, but allows for jokes about the original “Anaconda.” Perhaps most importantly, it’s a buddy comedy with Jack Black and Paul Rudd, so it’ll be fun no matter what.

Playing at Metro Cinemas, Regal Valley River Center and Cinemark Eugene Springfield 17. 

Special screenings

Crafter’s Movie Night for “Mary Poppins”: On Sunday, Dec. 28 at 7 p.m., The Art House is hosting another Crafter’s Movie Night, this time to “Mary Poppins.” In partnership with the Cozy Yarn Shop, house lights are at midlevel throughout the screening. Knitting, crocheting and more are welcome. Tickets are $11 for adults, $10 for students and military, and $8 for seniors and children.

Holiday series at Regal: The Regal Valley River Center is in the middle of its Holiday Series 2025, a collection of special screenings throughout the rest of the year. 

For Dec. 24 through Dec. 30, the screenings are: 

What were the other options again?